What Is the Story About?
Dhahanam tells a bloody revenge tale under the Naxalite backdrop, inspired by real events. Sriramulaiah (Vinod Anand) is a well-respected leader who had a good relationship with Narayan Reddy (Pradeep Rawat) and Chenna Reddy (Sayaji Shinde). His increasing popularity and respect among the public and Narayan Reddy make Chenna Reddy jealous. He eventually succeeds in killing him.
The elder son of Sriramulaiah, Hari (Abhishek Duhan), a revolutionary by nature, vows to avenge his father’s death. Who are his supporters, and what are the obstacles he faced (Obul Reddy and Kabir) is the series’ primary story.
Performances?
All the actors are well cast for their respective parts. Unfortunately, the dubbing ruins their efforts in Telugu. One is never engaged due to the distracting dubbing, and the intensity goes for a toss.
What also doesn’t help is that Dhahanam is merely a web series retelling of a tale that has already been told effectively cinematically. It is Rakta Charaitra redux. The dubbing (in Telugu) and the actors make the whole thing look inferior.
Abhishek Duhan and Ashwat kanth Sharma play the siblings Hari and Ravi. Both are decent and do their parts well. Dhahanam is primarily about the former, though, and he gets the significant share of the run time and critical monologues. Abhishek Duhan is alright.
Abhilash Chaudhary gets the most powerful part of Obul Reddy. In the movie version, it was the role that instantly stood out for the sheer mayhem and cruelty, which got the actor a lot of recognition. Unfortunately, despite the more gruesome and filthy language, the web series version lacks the same spark.
Sayaji Shinde and Pradeep Rawat are senior pros who have done the same parts many times before. They are adequate. The regular faces frequently seen in Ram Gopal Varma movies, like Zakir Hussain, Ravi Kale etc., fill the supporting space. They deliver the necessary. Kancherapalem Kishore is alright, though getting repetitive with his body language. Vinod Anand is okay.
Among the ladies, Naina Ganguly as Pavani has a better role compared to Parvathy Arun. Both are alright, but Naina has a lot of angst in her character, which leads to an over the top outburst. Isha Koppikar is mostly missing in action after an initial appearance.
Analysis
Agasthya Manju a close associate of Ram Gopal Varma directs Dhahanam. It is yet another fictional retelling of the well known Rayalaseema background faction background tale.
First things first, even though the director is Ahasthya, one can’t help but feel the imprint of Ram Gopal Varma in his execution. It is closer to the latter’s recent works than his earlier ones.
The gruesome killings, the conversations etc., are all typical Ram Gopal Varma. It is why there is a dejavu feel all over. We have seen it all before, and in a better way, visual aesthetics included.
There is hardly any surprise in the narrative apart from the language and direct usage of the name and slang words. The usual sketches and killing have all a been-there-done-that kind of feel. If only there were more details, the whole exercise would have been endurable.
The ending sets things up for the second season. We have to see if that comes out or not, though.
Overall, Dhahanam is a more violent and cuss filled retelling of a known story. The lack of new insights or details further makes it an unnecessary exercise.
Music and Other Departments?
The background score by Anand is loud but is effective in parts. It creates the energy to what could otherwise have been a bland and boring narrative. Malharbhatt Joshi’s cinematography captures the landscape decently, and that’s it. Manish Takur’s editing could have been better. The writing is poor. If one has seen enough films with a similar milieu, one could second guess all the dialogues beforehand.
Highlights?
A Few Actors
BGM, In Parts
Drawbacks?
Dubbing (Telugu)
Terrible Execution
Writing
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Dhahanam Series Review by Binged Bureau
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